HI,

10 Steps to Dismissal for Cause

Over the past number of months I have attended two H.R. workshops delivered by employment lawyers. Both lawyers made statements along the lines of, “it is impossible to fire an employee for cause, in Canada.

Employment lawyer Howard Levitt opens his Financial Post column, The rocky road to dismissal with much the same thesis. He then goes on to say that, should an employer wish to pursue progressive discipline, there are ten steps that must be taken.


Canadian employees are nearly fireproof. Given the roadblocks hurled at employers by the courts, few any longer even attempt to dismiss employees for incompetence. But for those with the will, stomach and tenacity, here are the 10 things an employer must do:
Advise the employee that she or he will be dismissed if their performance is not fundamentally improved.
The letter should specify the performance standards required.
The employer must be able to detail not only that the employee did not meet its standards but that the level of incompetence was extremely serious.
The employer must set out precisely what the employee must do to sufficiently improve.
The letter must articulate precisely what that employee is doing to cause or contribute to the problem.
The letter should detail what assistance will be provided to the employee and what time the employee will be permitted to rehabilitate performance.
The employee must be provided sufficient time and training to improve.
I recommend that the letter of warning specify a time each week for follow up on progress.
Eliminate any excuse the employee might devise.
Do not condone performance problems.

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